


slade wilson can lift fifty baby elephants

by Sodium_K



Series: we can do it! - the dc bombshells series [1]
Category: Bombshells (DC Comics), DCU (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bombshells (DC Comics) Setting, Barbara Gordon is Batgirl, F/F, F/M, Joseph Wilson Needs A Hug, Magic, Mentioned slade wilson, Only Kind of - Freeform, Past Polyamorous Suicide Squad, Pirates, Protective Rose Wilson, Self-Indulgent, also that line from bombshells united vol. 3 where rose goes "junie i won't let it take you-', babs doesn't burn in the sun like a vampire, because it's funny to think of him as anything other than deathstroke, but only when thinking about slade wilson, but there's like. a 90 percent chance he's just. Some Guy, i saw croc's line about how he used to date babs june and rose and fucking ran with it, like she was not at all worried about croc babs or frankie, no beta we die like jason todd, rose doesn't know who he is, she burns like the redhead that she is, the premise of dc bombshells being almost entirely female makes me cackle, yeah theyre dating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-16 04:42:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29076540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sodium_K/pseuds/Sodium_K
Summary: the depictions of violence aren'ttoobad, but just in case. it's about joe's cut throat and them some murderA short story surrounding dc bombshells' Justice League Dark (John Constantine, Zatanna, Raven, Enchantress, Ravager, Killer Croc even though he isn't there, plus Vampire Batgirl Barbara Gourdon), two years post-canon. Other points include:-Rose being a good big sister to Joseph-Rose and Joseph having absolutely no idea who their father is-mentions of Adeline Kane not being a good mother-their ship being larger than you might think-Zatanna and John being good parents to Raven-contrary to the title slade wilson does not show up. at all.
Relationships: Barbara Gordon & Rose Wilson, Barbara Gordon & Zatanna Zatara, Cassandra Cain/Raven, John Constantine & Raven, John Constantine & Raven & Zatanna Zatara, John Constantine/Zatanna Zatara, Joseph Wilson & Rose Wilson, June Moone/Rose Wilson, Raven & Zatanna Zatara, Zatanna Zatara & Rose Wilson
Series: we can do it! - the dc bombshells series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2133282
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	slade wilson can lift fifty baby elephants

This storm was noticeably worse than previous ones - John, Zatanna, Raven, and Enchantress couldn’t afford to pay attention to anything other than keeping the ship afloat. In the cabin, Rose was doing her best to steer, alternating between making adjustments and muttering words of encouragement to the ship.

“C’mon darling,” she’d whisper, “you’re doing so well, you can do this, we’re doing just fine.” It didn’t make any difference, but Rose liked to think that her ship could hear her and that her reassurances would make the ship sail better. The _Hosun_ was Rose Wilson’s pride and joy; it was a classic barquentine ship, triple-masted, and she’d been taking care of it for the past seven years. During her stint in the bayou, she’d left the _Hosun_ in the care of an old friend of hers, and she’d killed him when she found it in disrepair. 

She gritted her teeth and held on tight as wave after wave tossed the _Hosun_ around like a cat playing with a ball of yarn, and it wasn’t long after that they finally escaped the storm clouds. They all breathed a sigh of relief as the water smoothed out, and the magicians let their spells dissipate. She set the ship to autopilot, and staggered out onto the deck, blinking at the sudden, bright light of the sun. Zatanna waved her hand, speaking backwards, and the water on the deck was lifted off, returning to the sea. John disappeared below deck for a moment, returning with food. 

“Since the weather’s calmed down a bit, I thought that maybe we could have lunch up here?” Raven nodded eagerly, spreading her hands and creating a blanket, straightening it out with June’s help. With the exception of Rose, who was checking for damage belowdecks, they all took seats on the blanket, eagerly taking the food from John and eating ravenously. They all chatted with each other merrily, talking about everything and nothing and anything that came to mind. Rose ran back up to join her coven, assessing the seating arrangement, and very quickly taking her favorite seat - right on June’s lap. The dark-haired woman wasn’t bothered by this at all; it was a common occurrence, simply reaching around the pirate to get to her food. The conversation easily adjusted to fit Rose into it, and once they finished their lunch, nobody felt all too inspired to start cleaning up, and the crew lounged around on the deck, taking in the sun (with the exception of Barbara, who burned easily and was now draped in the picnic blanket). 

Zatanna, Raven, and John lay down, drowsy from the sun and overexertion, and one by one slipped off to sleep, rocked by the gentle motion of the boat on the waves. June yawned and leaned back, and Rose wrapped her arms around June’s neck, resting her head on her chest. Barbara stood up, keeping the picnic blanket wrapped around her, and walked over to the edge of the boat, peering into the horizon. A small speck appeared, growing larger as they came closer to it. Barbara saw the chance. 

She took it.

“LAND HO!” She shouted at the top of her lungs, waking John, scaring June, and causing Rose to scramble to her feet and join her at the railing. John pushed himself into a sitting position, blinking rapidly, and then grumbled something and fell back down, falling asleep in less than two minutes. Rose squinted her eye, peering out at the landmass, and grinned, thumping Barbara on the back and running to the cabin to change course. 

They were about thirty minutes out from the docks, and the sleeping magicians had managed to wake up in time (somehow). Rose managed all of the docking and tying up the ship (she always did), and they soon hopped off the boat, Rose shepherding them around. A friendly citizen gave them a basic tour, but Raven seemed… on edge. 

It hadn’t taken the empath long to notice that something was wrong with the inhabitants of this seemingly sleepy coastal town, and she silently passed this information to Zatanna and Enchantress, who agreed with quick nods after some examination of their own. A quick nudge to Rose’s side brought them back to the ship, where Raven shared her discovery. Rose squinted out at the town quietly before turning back to the group and nodding, her, John, and Barbara agreeing that something was off. John sighed grumpily.

“Guess we’re never done with work, then.” The team conferred amongst themselves, devising a plan to split up and question the residents, subtly enough to make sure nobody suspected anything. Barbara and John headed to the north end, Raven and June headed west, Zatanna went east, and Rose stayed at the docks on the south side of town. Barbara and John did their best, doing a mostly bad cop/worse cop routine, and yet they found nothing. The civilians they questioned remained dull and careless, moreso than the civilians down by the docs. At the docks, Rose was able to find out that some southerners suspected something nefarious going on in the east side of town, but that was it; she had no sort of magical abilities that would help with this, and nothing can make people give up information that they don’t have. Raven and June had the worst luck; the people living on the west side of town were almost completely unaffected, ignorant to the drab behaviors of their fellow townsfolk. 

Zatanna, however, clearly noted that the people in the east end were far more affected by the grey haze of apathy that was hanging around the southerners, and after some magical persuasion, she was pointed to what some of the eastern townsfolk believed to be the source of their problems.

“It’s an orphanage overlooking the town,” she told her teammates once they were aboard the ship, “the people tend to think it’s the… _whatever_ that is affecting them, and I did a quick lookover with my magic. There’s no happiness coming from it at all, and I want Raven to do another lookover. I do believe that the orphanage is the source of the miasma around the town.” Raven looked to the east, craning her neck and spotting the orphanage; a large, foreboding building on a cliff overlooking the town. 

“I’ll have to get closer to get a better feel for it.” she muttered, and she, Zatanna, and John left to get closer to the building while June, Barbara, and Rose stayed in the docs, getting a better feel for the town. 

Raven had a physical reaction to the building; she took several steps back and hissed after feeling out the orphanage. John placed a steadying hand on her back, and Raven shook her head, turning away.

“You’re right,” she mumbled, “there’s no happiness in there. Something’s wrong with the orphanage.” The three of them started walking back to the ship, asking about the orphanage along the way. By the time they got back to the other three women, they had discovered that nobody could remember a time when a child got adopted from the orphanage, and that no child had aged out of the orphanage; they had all run away before the age of eighteen. None of them believed that second claim, and they relayed it to Barbara, June, and Rose as false (not that they would have believed it either).

“Alright,” Rose said, crossing her arms, “so we need to get into that orphanage. Figure out what’s going on up there. Possibly kill the headmistress along the way.” Her last remark earned her a reproachful look from Barbara, but they put together a plan. 

June and Rose were posing as a married couple, with Raven as their daughter. Zatanna and John were in the woods, waiting for a distress signal, and Barbara was crawling around the outside of the house, using her vampiric hearing to listen for anything out of place or something that might alert her to the issue. The three undercover walked up the path to the door, taking in the worryingly wilted greenery and total lack of children outside. June slipped her arm around Rose’s, taking Raven’s hand in her free one, and they stepped up onto the landing, Rose reaching out and thumping the door knocker. It echoed.

After five minutes of silence, the doors were swung open, revealing an elderly woman. She looked surprised at the three women on her doorstep, but smoothed out her surprise in record time, covering it with a pleasant smile. 

“Well, hello. How may I help you?” Rose smiled right back at her, offering her hand to shake. The woman took it.

“Hello,” Rose said, “My name is Judith Roth, and this is my wife, Carol, and my daughter, Rachel. We have been looking to adopt another child, and your establishment caught our attention.” Rose was all smiles and politeness, a rather jarring contrast to anyone who knew her. The woman struggled to keep her smile on her face.

“Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Roth. My name is Mrs. Faye Gunn, but the kids here call me Ma. I’m the headmistress of this orphanage, and I’m delighted to hear that you’re giving us a chance; the children here have gotten… _quite_ the reputation for unruliness.” She stood to the side, allowing them in. They stepped inside, surveying the inside of the building. It was sparse in decorations, the paint on the walls was cracked and peeling, and all of the curtains were dusty and pulled shut. June and Raven shared a look, Raven shuddering as a chill ran down her spine. The empath was quickly getting overwhelmed by the building, but she was doing an excellent job of hiding it. 

Ma Gunn led them up to her office on the top floor, and Raven lingered behind the adults, peering into the rooms they passed. She was unimpressed with the state of them all, and most of them were empty; the children she did see numbered exactly twelve, and all of them scampered out of view, some of them glaring distrustfully out through the doorways. The office was arguably the best room in the building, and the headmistress gestured to a couch, sitting in a chair on the other side of the desk. Raven pretended to listen to the older women talk, but she was actually using her soul-self to investigate further and converse with Barbara. Vampire Batgirl had noticed a strange-looking root cellar, and mentioned this to Raven. June gently nudged when Ma Gunn stood up.

“Well, you sound like delightful young women, and I’d be… _delighted_ to bring the boys up here to meet you. I’ll be just a second. Don’t touch anything.” She left, and the door shut behind her. Rose leaned in to her two companions.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but she seems quite reluctant to let us meet the kids. I thought people were desperate to get orphans adopted.” Raven agreed, and brought up the root cellar Barbara had seen. June closed her eyes, reaching out with her magic, and confirmed the cellar’s existence. Barbara appeared at the window, and Rose sent her off with orders to tell Zatanna and John to investigate the cellar. Ma Gunn returned almost instantly after Barbara dropped out of sight, accompanied by eleven kids. They all lined up, some hiding behind others and none of them looking happy. At all. Ma Gunn began to introduce them, but stopped at the eleventh, suddenly looking infuriated. She swore.

“Dammit! Where’d he go?” She turned back to Rose, false smile plastered on her face, “I’m sorry ma’am, we do have twelve children here, but _one of them_ decided not to join us. Please, get to know these boys here while I go _get him_.” Rose laughed it off, promising her it was alright. Ma Gunn stormed back down the staircase, and June turned to the children, smiling and introducing herself. 

“Hello! My name’s Carol Roth - this is my wife, Judith, and our daughter, Rachel. We look forward to getting to meet you.” She was met with silence. Awkwardly, she tried for another approach. “Well, we do travel a lot, and we live with some friends as well.” The boys remained unmoved, and Rose tried her hand with something she _knew_ would get their attention.

“I’m trained with swords and have two of my own.” She blurted, and it was comical how quickly all of the kids turned to her. However, it was at that point that some commotion could be heard from outside of the door, and Ma Gunn marched in, pulling a loudly protesting blond kid by his ear. 

“Ow! Let me go, Ms. Gunn! Let -” Ma Gunn dropped him and cuffed the back of his head. The kid rubbed the contact point and pouted grumpily. Ma turned him to face her visitors. 

“I’m so sorry about him,” she said, “this is the orphanage’s problem child, Joseph Wilson. _Say hello_.” She growled the last part out of the side of her mouth, and Joseph looked up at them.

“Hi.” he muttered, and Rose wrestled her facial expression down from shock and into pleasant surprise - Wilson was a fairly common last name, after all. (She couldn’t help but feel unnerved by his bright green eyes, however.)

“Hi, Joseph!” Raven and June echoed her greeting, and Joseph quickly showed them that he was very different from the other children; he got right to talking to them. Ma Gunn tried to shut him up, telling him that the women didn’t have time to listen to his meaningless chatter, but Rose simply waved her off. 

It took a little while, but the other boys also began to warm up to them, and they had _just_ gotten a good conversation started when Zatanna sent Raven a distress signal; something had come up and they needed to get out of there _right now_. They made their excuses and fled, promising to come back the next day and make a decision, and met back up with the other three at the docks. Rose was still preoccupied thinking about Joseph, but John had gone into the root cellar and found a training room. It was past a “normal” sort of training room as well, it was the kind of training room that one would see in the safehouse of a professional mercenary. Barbara had also found another office, this one in the basement. Upon closer inspection, she discovered that the documents were business contracts- for assassins. The kids at this orphanage were contract killers, trained and sold by Ma Gunn to whoever paid the highest price. 

As the other five discussed what this meant and how it was related to the rest of the town, Rose was mentally analyzing everything Joseph had done or said; starting at his initial absence and going all the way to miniature body movements that the others didn’t make. Joseph had not been affected by the training Ma Gunn was putting them all through, and he remained a cheerful and outgoing child, starkly contrasting the introversion and distrust emanating from his peers. Could they possibly be related? Sure, they had the same last name, but ‘Wilson’ was fairly common, and sure, they did look similar, but perhaps it was just a coincidence? Rose’s mother had made it clear to her that she was an only child - and an accidental one at that - and her mother wasn’t the sort of woman to lie, especially not about something like family. 

June tapped Rose’s shoulder, bringing her out of her reverie. They’d decided that Ma Gunn needed to be stopped as soon as possible, and they could do it as soon as that night. Rose agreed that that night was a good time to stop her. The rest of the day passed by, and at midnight that night the Justice League Dark found themselves staring down the orphanage. 

“Ready to beat up some orphans?” John asked jokingly, earning himself an elbow to the side from Barbara. Barbara was the first off, climbing the side of the orphanage, peering in each window and signaling where the inhabitants were. The children - only ten - were in the main room on the ground floor, training through physical combat with one another in pairs. They all shared a look with each other, knowing that there was no other way to do this than head on. They walked through the front door, not bothering to be quiet, Zatanna leading the way.

“ _Syob peels_!” She shouted, and they all dropped, unconscious. Faye Gunn jumped up from her chair where she had been supervising, moving to attack - perhaps reaching for a gun - but John extended a hand, freezing her in place. Rose made her way over to Ma Gunn, but a surprised _yelp_ from Raven made her turn around immediately. Raven’s soul-self was extended, and Joey was next to her, on the ground like he had been pushed. Raven looked up at her companions, stammering out,

“He can possess people - I think through eye contact!” Joey tried to get up and run, but June stepped in front of him, grabbing him by the shoulders and keeping him from going anywhere. Rose’s eye narrowed - he _had_ to be related to her. She walked over, switching places with June and leading Joey off to speak to him privately while the others interrogated Ma Gunn. She sat him on the outside doorsteps, sitting next to him and smiling awkwardly.

“Hello again, Joey.” He looked up at her, stunned, but didn’t try to possess her, “I guess it’s pretty obvious that I’m… not who I said I am.” Joey chuckled a little, and Rose shifted in her seat. “My… my name’s Rose… Wilson. I know Wilson’s a pretty common surname, but… I think we might be related.” Joey raised an eyebrow and tilted his head to the side in confusion.

“Really? You really think so?” Rose half-shrugged.

“I mean, probably. I’m not completely sure, but it makes sense and is probable.” She was going to say something more about their relation, but Joseph’s eyes lit up and he straightened up, very excited, and started firing off questions rapidly.

“Really? Really? You’re my sister? Are you here for me? Are you going to adopt me and take me with you?” Rose was utterly taken aback by his energetic behavior and total trust in her. She had considered _offering_ to take him with her, but she had never thought that he’d want to, but here he was _asking_ if he could go with her. She had absolutely no idea how she should respond. 

“Well, I _think_ I’m your sister. I’d like it if I could…” What word should she use? “... adopt you? But I’m not sure if it could work out. I’ll have to talk to my friends.” She patted him on the shoulder and headed back inside. Joseph remained seated, watching her with awe-struck eyes. 

The others had evidently finished their interrogation of Ma Gunn, who was tied up, and the ten kids had woken up. They were now sitting in a group, being interviewed by Zatanna and Raven. John was standing over Ma Gunn, and June was heading for the door when Rose walked through it. She made her way over to John, raising an eyebrow in question. He let her know that what was affecting the town had been taken care of, and that the last child that hadn’t been in the training area or with Joseph was in the cellar in the yard. Barbara had gone out to get him.

Once Barbara brought the last child back to the building, they brought Ma Gunn down to the town, bringing her to the jail. They told the officers what had happened, and the sheriff sent someone up to take care of the orphanage until they could find an actual replacement. Raven, Zatanna, and John went to get some rest, and Rose brought up what Joseph had said to her. June grinned, half-mockingly.

“Sounds like you want to keep him, then!” Rose flushed a little, stammering and looking away from June. 

“Well - I - I don’t know him and I don’t know if it would be a good idea and-” Barbara cut her off with a hand on her shoulder. 

“Oh, _cherie_ , it’ll be alright. If you wish to bring him with us, we’ll be able to adjust. It’s well within the realm of possibility, and I know John, Zatanna, and Raven would be fine with it. Besides, we are traveling on your ship.” Rose patted Barbara’s hand and smiled softly, grateful for her advice. She decided to sleep on it, leaving for her bed on the . 

The more she thought about Joseph, the more she wanted to bring him aboard the _Hosun_ , and by the time the sun had risen again she had made up her mind. She let the others know her plan, and then she made her way up to the orphanage. 

Joey and two other boys were sitting in the main room, none of them speaking to the others, and Joey was busy drawing in a sketchbook. He was facing away from the door, so Rose was able to sneak up on and surprise him by tapping him on the shoulder. He jumped and whirled around, expression quickly going from shock (and fear, which deeply upset Rose) to joy. He seemed to have sensed Rose’s reason for being here, because he grinned widely and threw his arms around her shoulders in a hug. She laughed softly and patted him on the back, returning the hug. 

“Hey,” she said, setting him back down on the couch, “how about you go get your things and say good-bye to whoever you want to. I have to speak with the guy who’s currently in charge here.” Joey nodded obediently and ran up the stairs, and Rose stepped into the side room where the office had been temporarily moved to. 

The ‘conversation’ she had was mostly her informing the stand-in headmaster that she would be taking Joseph with her, as she was his older sister. The man looked like he wanted to protest, but a look from Rose shut him up. Joseph was standing by the front door when she was done, holding a small bag in one hand and his sketchbook and pencils in the other. She put her hand on his shoulder and opened the door, stepping out into the late morning sun together. 

On their walk back to the town, Joey was practically jumping down the path; he was so excited to get out of the orphanage, especially since he would be on a _ship_ because his _big sister_ was a _pirate_ , and he talked a mile a minute about everything he could possibly think of. Rose just smiled and nodded along, occasionally throwing in comments about what life was like aboard the _Hosun_. Joseph was running circles around Rose by the time they got to the docks, where everyone was waiting. Strangely, when he saw everyone there, it was like a switch had flipped; he grew quiet and shy, going so far as to literally hide behind Rose. Rose shared a confused look with the others, but nobody mentioned it. 

The first day aboard the _Hosun_ was for introductions and idle chatter, until Rose pulled Joseph away to talk privately. Joseph didn’t notice anything amiss until he looked up at her; her face was grim and serious. He asked her what was wrong, and she sat down next to him, making direct eye contact. 

“Joe, I know this is exciting and it all sounds like fun and games, but we’re… our job is very dangerous. We formed this coven to stop dark magic. It’s incredibly dangerous to be a part of it, which you now are. There are certain rules you have to follow, which I will explain shortly, but you need to know that if at any point you get scared, that’s alright, and if you ever start thinking that you can’t handle it and want to stop traveling with us, that is completely alright. If that ever happens, we’ll drop you off at the first safe place, and I’d still come visit you. Capiche?” Joey nodded, undeterred by her warning. Rose continued, “The safety rules are pretty simple and are as follows; if you’re hiding, be quiet. If you get captured, don't tell them anything. No matter what, stay strong and stay alive. If you get lost, wait for me or one of the others, and above all don't lose hope.” Joseph nodded in understanding, and Rose patted his head before opening the cabin door and rejoining her companions. 

It took a little over a week for Joseph to get completely adjusted to life aboard a ship. Rose noted, with glee and a little sympathy, that Joseph was horribly seasick for the first four days. (It had been a while since she was aboard a ship with a new sailor.) He was embarrassed at first, but that embarrassment went away when Raven and June regaled him with tales of John’s rough first week aboard, much to John’s chagrin. Barbara did not get seasick, but Joey burned almost as easily as her, so they shared that pain with each other. (They quickly turned it into a competition to see who he would warm up to the fastest.)

June won him over before the others, using (according to John) “dirty, dirty tricks”. All she did was cook for him - she cooked for all of them, but John insisted she was cheating. 

Raven got to him next with stories, then Babs with her accent, then Zatanna followed with magic tricks, and John grumpily took last place after an incident in a city in Thailand that involved Harley’s circus and demonic banishment. Joseph and John were the only two there to witness it, and they steadfastly refused to tell anyone about what had happened. 

Joe’s favorite spot on the _Hosun_ was on a bench at the very back; it was slightly higher than the main deck, and there was plenty of wind tousling his hair, but the sea spray couldn’t get to him and ruin his sketchbook pages. Whenever somebody couldn’t find him, they would look up there first; he was almost always there, all day and sometimes at night as well, when he couldn’t sleep or when he had a nightmare.

True to Rose’s warning, their work was incredibly dangerous, and more than once Joseph got in serious trouble with someone they were fighting. Every time it happened, the adults were quite scared, but Joseph managed to follow the rules that Rose had set out. 

A little over three weeks had passed since the Justice League Dark had stopped at that town and taken Joseph with them when they ran across somebody who had been giving them trouble for the past couple of months. He was a gang leader, his gang dabbled in dark magic and deals, and he had been giving Cambodia some difficulty; Lili Rose had her hands full with him, which was saying something. He appeared to have a personal vendetta against Rose for reasons unknown (John’s current theory was that he might have had something to do with Rose’s father, but since Rose’s father remained a mystery, there was no way of knowing). They were on a sunny, tropical island that was mostly uninhabited when he spotted the league, and decided that his best course of action was to kidnap Joseph in an attempt to get Rose to either surrender herself or her information on dark spirits. 

Joseph had been missing for about an hour now, but they had only noticed thirty minutes ago, as they had been split up and were thinking that he was simply with the other group; it was John, Zatanna, and June, and Rose, Raven, and Barbara. Now that they were all back together, Rose was beginning to panic. Joseph couldn’t be found, but then a prophecy flooded Rose’s mind. This one was silent, so it would only be shared if she chose to repeat it. Her eye widened, and Barbara watched in shock as her entire body language changed. Minute, subconscious motions changed her behavior and tone of voice from ‘mild panic’ to ‘abject terror’. 

"Fuck." she choked out, before turning and sprinting off, presumably terrified by the vision. The other five followed her, but she already had a head start, and they almost lost her a couple of times. 

Joey was doing his best to stay brave and follow the guidelines Rose had given him; _be quiet, don't tell them anything, stay strong, stay alive, wait for me, don't lose hope_. It was getting hard. The man that had captured him - the Jackal, he was called - was pacing back and forth, heels digging into the sand. 

It was hot outside. The Jackal was displeased with Joey's silence, especially with how his silence condemned them to the mercy of the sun. The goon holding Joey's shoulders was sweating and cursing at Joey. _Stay strong_ , Rose had told him three weeks ago, when he first stepped aboard the _Hosun_. _Stay strong_ was a hard order to follow. Joey wanted to go home, back aboard the _Hosun_ , with salt in his hair and wind flapping his sketchbook pages all over the place, with June's cooking and Barbara's accented tales of her adventures and Zatanna’s magic tricks and most of all _Rosie_. He whimpered when he thought about it, and tears welled up in his eyes when he thought about how he might never see it again. He had faith in his big sister and her friends, but the longer he stood in the blistering heat the more he disobeyed the last order of _don't lose hope_.

The Jackal was done waiting. Joey watched in terror as he was marched closer to the gang leader, who pulled something jerkily out of his belt. It glinted in the sun - a knife. Joey yelped in fear and began to struggle in earnest, but the thug held him still. The Jackal knelt down to his height, his dark sunglasses preventing Joey from saving himself. He grimaced at the kid, quickly swiping the blade across his throat in one fluid motion, then standing up and leaving. The thug dropped him mercilessly in the sand and joined his boss.

It didn't hurt at first. Joey choked and gagged on the vermilion flood, hand jerking up to meet the gushing blood and trying to staunch the flow. It filled his lungs and began to leak from his mouth as he sank down. 

It was when the back of his head touched the sand that it began to hurt - a searing pain worse than anything he'd ever felt, coupled with the terror of knowing he was going to die. He tried to cry out in pain, but nothing more than some gurgling and bubbling in the blood came from it. His hands were covered in sticky, deep red blood. It ran down the sides of his throat and pooled in the sand, wetting it and turning it red. He could hear shouting through the rushing in his ears. Who was shouting? Who were they talking to?

His head was lifted up and placed on something higher than the ground and his hands were taken off of his neck, replaced with something a lot heavier. He felt like he was being choked instead of choking (drowning) in his own blood, and a face appeared above him. It looked familiar - he only knew one person with an eyepatch. Rosie?

She _had_ made it. He knew she would. 

She looked very worried - terrified, really, and then looked away from him, staring off into the distance. 

" _JUNIE_!" Rose screamed, praying that the Enchantress could hear her. Really, any of the magical members of the Justice League Dark could help Joey, but it was June that Rose wanted to see. It was John who showed up, and he stopped dead in his tracks upon seeing the amount of blood covering Joseph. He dove for him, easing Rose's hand off the injury and replacing it with his own, muttering magical words and pushing all of the healing magic he knew through his hand. Slowly, the wound began to knit closed, and Rose _knew_ who had done this. A quick scan of the sand showed her the footprints that had been poorly covered, and after squeezing Joey’s less bloody hand comfortingly, she set off, following the prints. John watched her leave, knowing that the Jackal wouldn’t be bothering them after today.

Jackal was in his safehouse in town, packing his things as quickly as possible. He noticed a small spray of blood on his right arm, and licked his thumb, wiping it off. A small _thump_ caught his attention, and he turned around to see… nothing. Narrowing his eyes, he couldn’t see anything wrong with the safehouse, so he turned back around and started packing faster. He was zipping up his second bag when a warm liquid dripped on the back of his head. When he went to feel it, his hand came back blood. 

Looking up, he saw the thug he had employed strung up on the ceiling, disemboweled with an expression of fear frozen on his face. A scream tore from Jackal's throat and he scrambled for the exit. He stopped in place when something _wooshed_ past him - a sword was stuck quivering in the wall right in front of him. 

“And where are _you_ going?” Someone asked, and he whirled around to see Ravager slowly emerging from the shadows. Her left hand and her legs were covered in blood, and the pure hatred emanating from her froze his blood. He tried to run from her, but she was on him before he could move, hands wrapped around his neck. “ _Don’t run from me_ ,” she seethed, her right hand inching up his face, “ _don’t you dare fucking run, you coward. How_ dare _you, Joey is a_ child.” Her thumb found his left eye, and it dug in. Before he could scream, Rose had hit his head on the wall hard enough to knock him out. 

He came to, finding out he was only able to see through one eye. His head throbbed terribly, and he was vaguely aware of cold metal wrapping around his body, restraining his movement. His good eye was on the side of his head that was pressed onto the ground he was lying on, but a sharp tug on his hair pulled him into a sitting position, and then standing. Holding onto his hair was Ravager. Looking down at himself, he saw that he had been wrapped in chains, and looking back he saw that he was standing on a large rock high above the water. Being wrapped in the chains meant that all it would take to kill him was a small push - which is what Ravager did, sending him tumbling off the rock. He screamed as he fell, but Rose was already walking off, back to where she had left her little brother. 

June was waiting at the otherwise vacant beach, standing up and running to Rose when she saw her and kissing her cheek.

“Come, darling, let’s get you cleaned up. You’re absolutely covered in blood.” Rose let June lead her to the boat, asking only about Joe. “He’s going to be alright, Rosie, John’s just brought him to the island’s doctor to check on any lasting damage.” Rose remained silent as June washed her hands, arms, and legs. “Did you kill him?” June asked, and Rose nodded. 

“Yes, finally.” She paused, looking solemn and gloomy, “can you take me to him?” June shook her head.

“No, sweetheart, the doctor’s office is too small for any visitors, and Joey should be back within the hour anyways.” True to her word, they returned thirty minutes later, John holding a curled-up Joseph. Rose ran over to them, trying to get a good look at him - he was asleep. John gently transferred him to Rose, and Joey stirred a little, but he remained asleep. She looked up at John, who grimaced and told her what the doctor had told him - Joey had lost the ability to speak due to the damage that had been done to his throat. Biting her tongue to keep herself from swearing (it would wake up Joey), Rose just nodded, and took him belowdecks to put him to bed.

Joey’s throat healed slowly, even with magical assistance. Communication was also difficult; he had to write in a notepad if he wanted to tell anyone anything, but Barbara thankfully found a book on sign language in a store, so they were all able to learn, which made it easier to communicate. The incident left Joey more withdrawn and scared around strangers, and it was common for any one of them to wake up to Joey crawling into their bed after a nightmare. 

Many months after the incident, everyone was on the deck at sunrise; Joseph was drawing it and Rose was content to sit back and watch it. Her mother had recently sent a messenger after her, demanding that she come back to Cambodia - she had information on a hotspot of dark magic, and she had reason to believe it was somewhere in China. 

They were now floating off the coast as John and Zatanna attempted to find the hotspot. Barbara was dead to the world, having stayed awake for the past forty-two hours, June had her head on Rose’s shoulder and was singing to herself, and Raven was having breakfast with the leader of China. They had informed Cassandra Cain of the possible hotspot within the boundaries of her country, and she had come out to meet them in person. Raven had instantly taken a liking to her (mumbling something about her energy when asked), and Cassandra had found her quite interesting. They had grown very close, Raven dodging any and all questions like… well, like a girl in love. Historians would say they were close friends. 

When the source of the hotspot was found, Cassandra asked if she could tag along. She came with them, and they found that the hotspot was created by a cult. The cult had tapped into some sort of dark energy, trying to see into the future (Rose snorted disdainfully) and along the way had accidentally unleashed some sort of otherworldly being. It had the basic shape of a man, was _incredibly fucking tall_ , and only had a single, glowing eye. It remained impervious to magic, was faster than Barbara, and was more than a match for Rose. 

Cassandra dropped it in three moves. 

Zatanna lightheartedly elbowed her daughter, whose face was several shades redder than Barbara’s hair, and made a quiet remark to her that made her blush deepen. Somehow. John managed to banish it, and after defeating the cult, they could physically feel the weight from the hotspot dissipate. 

They got back to the _Hosun_ as the sun set, and June made them all dinner, which they dug into gratefully. None of them felt like going anywhere.


End file.
